Listen To Me
by Gatamigo
Summary: She's held it inside for years, believing no one wants to listen to her troubles, but when a stranger comes along, will she be able to confess her heart's desire? AshXMisty First in the "To Me" series


Sitting by a narrow stream, accompanied only by the sounds of the water as it flowed on its way, a young girl began to cry. Her shoulders moved in heaves and their movements were copied by her bright orange hair that was tied off to the side. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, pulling them close and obscuring her face from anyone else's view. Not that there was anyone to keep it hidden from. Here, she could be alone.

This had happened so many times that Misty was beginning to loose count. Yet again, she had let her emotions go and it had only brought her pain. She loved him, oh, how she loved him. But the boy of her affections was too young, or maybe too dense to notice anything. She knew that all too well, but still she couldn't stop loving him. And so, alone she would sit, crying her heart out for a love that seemed would never be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Excuse me, miss," it said, "Is something the matter?" Misty slowly lifted her head to see who had found her. She did not recognize the voice or the face when she saw it. He appeared to be around the age of sixteen. He had short black hair that seemed to shine in the afternoon sun. He wore a pair of glasses which framed his dark brown eyes. He had donned a green t-shirt with a yellow star shape in the center and a pair of jeans. From the pokeballs on his belt, Misty automatically recognized him as a trainer.

Misty quickly wiped her eyes, embarrassed at being found here, "O-oh… Nothing's wrong. Thank you anyway, but-"

She was quickly cut off by the boy. "Nonsense," he said with a slight accent, "You were just crying, so something is wrong." The boy sat next to Misty in the grass, looking truthfully worried about her. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm good at listening."

Did she want to talk about it? For years, she had done her best to keep her feelings a secret from her friends and family. She had known that it was wrong to internalize her problems, but with Ash as dense as he was, she always felt it better not to think about them. But she did think about them, and it was times like these that made her want to cry for all the things she could have shared with Ash, but didn't. Maybe it would be nice to have someone listen.

"Ok…"she said, "But it's kind of a long story."

"Oh, don't worry;" said the boy with a kind smile, "I have plenty of time." Misty nodded slowly before beginning her tale.

"Well… a few years ago, I met a boy. He was just starting out as a pokemon trainer and through a… interesting event, he utterly destroyed my bike. I followed him around until he could get the money to pay for it. At least, that's why I followed him originally. As time went by, we got closer and closer and we became friends. I watched him fight his way through the Kanto Pokemon League and even joined him in the Orange Islands. By then, I started to notice that I had developed… feelings for him."

Misty paused for a moment, remembering who it was she was talking to. One, this person was a total stranger and two, he was a guy! Most guys wouldn't like to hear about some stupid love story, especially hers. But when she looked at the boy's face, she saw such focus. He was completely enraptured in her story. This surprised Misty, causing her to blush slightly.

"Don't stop!" the boy said, "Really, keep going. You fell in love with this guy… then what?"

Shocked at his eagerness to listen, Misty stayed quiet. What was this? It wasn't very often that someone took such an interest with her problems, much less a total stranger. She contemplated this and came to the conclusion that such attention felt... rather nice.

"Well… we eventually had to go our separate ways. I missed him terribly for two years... Recently, he returned to his hometown. I thought I was over this stupid crush, but now I'm not so sure. Whenever I see him, I feel so sad when I should be happy. He's too dense to notice how I feel."

The boy nodded, seemingly understanding the girl's problem. "So when the pain gets too difficult, you come here to let it all out," he finished for the girl. Misty nodded.

"Yeah… I just wish I could… I don't know, really," Misty said, as she pulled her legs close to her again.

"Have you asked him how he feels about you?" asked the boy. Misty wasn't quite sure how to react to this. Ask Ash? What would that solve? It wasn't that she knew he felt otherwise, it was more that…

"He could never fall in love with me; not the way I have fallen for him."

"Now, stop that." Misty looked at the boy in curiosity.

"Stop what?" she asked.

The look on the boy's face was of all seriousness when he said," Don't assume anything with this guy. When you first met him, did you ever think you would fall for him? Was there even a thought in your mind that he was the one for you? It seems to me that these feelings you developed for him came over the long time you two spent together. What's to say the same didn't happen to him?"

Misty did not know what to say. The boy's statement was true, when they first met, being anything more than debtor and debtee was the farthest thing from Misty's mind, yet here she was: hopelessly in love with the capped Pokemon trainer. Could the same really be true for Ash? Could he have developed feelings for her as well?

"Misty?"

Misty snapped out of her daydream to see the boy sitting next to her smiling at her with all sincerity. He took her by the hand and said, "You have spent so much time sitting here crying about a love that you feel will never be, but that argument is as one-sided as the love you claim to share with Ash. Yes, he may have not noticed how you feel, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't share those feelings. You need to find out exactly how he feels. Otherwise...your next tear could be shed in vain."

Before Misty could respond, yet another voice rang out. She turned, slipping out of the boys grasp to see someone running down the slope to where she was seated.

"Ash?" she asked as she stood to greet him. Her next words were silenced as Ash glomped her into the grass.

"Ash, what was that fo-?!" she cried out, but was silenced with a kiss. Caught completely by surprise, Misty stiffened, confused by this sudden display of affection. This was what she had always dreamed of, yet never hoped to experience; Ash Ketchum, the love of her life, holding her in his arms and sharing their first kiss. Misty almost passed out from the shock. Almost.

As they separated for air, Misty managed to stutter, "W-what was that a-about?" Ash looked at her lovingly. Misty felt herself blush beet red under his gaze.

"I couldn't wait one more second. I'm sorry for throwing this upon you, Misty but… I love you. I always have, but it wasn't until my travels in the Sinnoh region that I discovered the truth. I was too egotistical to realize it before, but I do now. I know that you may not like me back but…"

Misty silenced him with another kiss. They released each other and Misty cried out, "You idiot! It took you that long to figure it out! I've always loved you, Ash Ketchum, and I always will!" Misty could feel the tears forming in her eyes. However, these tears were neither of sadness, nor of a love that would never be, they were tears of relief. Relief that her fears were unfounded, that Ash did love her, and all it had taken to make her dream come true was…

"Oh, no!" cried Misty as she quickly stood. She had forgotten completely about the pokemon trainer she had been talking to! He must have been so embarrassed to witness all of this! But when she looked at her surroundings, at the stream, the bank, the hill, he was nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong Misty?" asked Ash, who was thoroughly worried.

"The boy who was here a moment ago; I never got to thank him.

"Huh? What boy?"

"The Pokemon trainer I was talking to when you came. He's gone!"

"Misty? When I got here, you were alone."

Misty turned to look at Ash, who looked thoroughly confused. "What? But… he was right here! He had dark hair, a…a green shirt, and-"

"Hold on," interrupted Ash, "A green shirt with a star?"

Misty's eyes widened, "You know him?"

"Yeah… He was the one that gave me the courage to come tell you how I felt. But he just disappeared after I agreed to do it."

Misty walked closer to Ash, "He gave me the courage to do the same. I wonder who he was."

On the top of a nearby hill, a lone figure watched as the new couple leant in for another heart-warming embrace. He sighed contentedly before turning around and walking away. He knew that these two would have many trials over time, but he was certain they would make it through. Love is a strong power. When harnessed in a positive way, it can truly create miracles. The boy smirked at the thought, saying out loud to nobody in particular, "But, no one has ever claimed that it can't be given a little boost now and then." The boy laughed happily and disappeared into the horizon.

-Gatamigo


End file.
